Kidney Dialysis Diet Plan

I have been prescribed a Dialysis diet, can I still receive meals from Meals On Wheels Inc. of Tarrant County? YES!

Meals On Wheels Recommended Meal Plan
No Concentrated Sweets Diet with the beverage choice of one of the following: Skim Milk, Low fat Milk, or Calcium/Vitamin D Orange Juice

Diet Implications

What is the purpose of kidney dialysis diet?
To promote the best results of dialysis through a nutrient balanced diet. Over eating of certain nutrients can lead to complications during dialysis such as high blood pressure, anemia, weak bones, and nerve damage.

What does the diet consist of?
A kidney dialysis diet requires individuals to control their intake of sodium, potassium, phosphorus, and fluids. Avoid eating high protein meats, fruits, and vegetables.

What are the nutritional recommendations of a dialysis diet?
It is not easy having chronic kidney disease and changing your diet, but it is important to keep your body healthy. It is recommended to avoid foods with high sodium, high potassium, and high phosphorus. One single serving of sodium should average or be less than 300 milligrams. Try to consume fruits, fruit juices, and vegetables with under 150 mg of potassium. To be successful with the dialysis diet, doctors are concerned that patients know more about protein sources. Eating too much protein can stress the kidneys, while eating not enough protein can make the patient weak, tired, and more likely to get infections. Limiting your protein foods to 5 to 7 ounces a day is important for all patients. A 3-ounce serving of protein is about the size of a deck of cards. Limiting fluids to the correct amount that your doctor recommended is important to your health and the stability of your kidneys. Remember to count foods that have water in them so you do not exceed the amount recommended.

How can I make my dialysis diet work with the Meals On Wheels Regular Diet plan?
Meals on Wheels provides breakfast and noon meals which supply the body with one-third of the recommended amounts of nutrients as guided by the Recommended Dietary Allowances. The sodium content of the meals does not exceed 1000 mg on average, which compliments the dialysis diet. No salt is added during preparation and salt-free products, such as frozen vegetables rather than canned, are used as much as possible. Breakfast foods will provide, on average, 966 mg of potassium. Consequently, patients on a dialysis diet must be careful not to consume foods like tomato juice, honeydew, cantaloupe, and orange juice in the morning time.

Meals On Wheels will provide adequate nutrients in every meal, but patients need to be aware that it’s important to consume potassium, phosphorus, fluids, and sodium in moderation from sources outside of food provided by Meals On Wheels.

Aside from my Meals On Wheels food, what other heart-healthy foods can I consume for snacks and my third meal of the day?